Election 2010

The voter ID legislation passed by the Texas Senate on Wednesday night may be controversial, but it’s a familiar debate, as is the issue of “sanctuary cities.” Gov. Rick Perry has declared both to be “emergency items” that demand immediate attention by the Legislature.

Less well known but no less controversial are many of the provisions found in more than three dozen immigration-related bills filed so far in the early days of the 82nd legislative session.

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If Rick Perry ever wanted to thank the folks who provided most of the money behind his presidential bid, he wouldn't need to rent out a ballroom or even the back of an Austin restaurant. He could squeeze them into the cab of a pickup truck. Bloomberg

Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, is due in court on Monday to face a second criminal trial, but it's not clear whether he'll face first-degree felonies or Class A misdemeanors. The confusion comes from the fact that Reynolds' first trial—in which the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office pursued six counts of felony barratry—end

For years, Ken Paxton flew under the radar. As a member of the state Legislature he was rarely in the spotlight. Now, less than six months into his gig as attorney general, rarely a week goes by without seeing the McKinney attorney and real estate investor's name in headlines. Houston Chronicle

Ted Cruz had pledged not to attack his Republican rivals for president. He had gone out of his way for months to avoid bickering with GOP opponents. He accused the media of trying to provoke a civil war that would damage the party heading into 2016. All of it was part of a deliberate strategy to shed the slash-and-burn image he gained on Capitol Hill. Nation

Texas Governor Greg Abbott had no sooner emerged from a controversy—the “Jade Helm” brouhaha, when he was accused of pandering to the right-wing fringe after his decision to ask the Texas National Guard to monitor a routine military exercise—than he chanced into another, this one involving the Church of Scientology Newsweek

AUSTIN — The race to replace retiring state Rep. Joe Farias in San Antonio's House District 118 is shaping up to be a contest featuring two well-known Alamo City political families: Farias vs. Uresti. San Antonio Express-News